Hi everyone, here is the rundown: ESXi4.0 Host (Old Server, with local storage array), new ESXi5.1 Host (New Server, with SAN RAID 10 array). No vMotion, have used Veeam Quick Migrate to so far move one small XP VM over to the new array/host. I need to move 4 Server 2008 VMS to my new host. Both hosts are VMFS3. Old host is Intel S5520UR Server board. New host is Lenovo Thinkserver RD540.

I have not recieved my new VMWare licenses yet but would like to push forward. I have tried twice to move a low priority server from one host to the other with Veeam, but keep getting a SOAP error "disconnected from host" when doing so. Moving the important servers gives me a cluster size error, which shouldnt be a problem as both hosts are VMFS 3?

Corman, thank you for that bit of info. Quick follow up question: Do i require Vcenter Server to be installed and running normally to use VCenter Converter in an ESXi environment?

vCenter is not required. Simply install the Standalone converter on a computer or server that's located close to the ESXi servers (preferably a gig network). You can even install it in a VM. The application will ask you for the source server's credentials (old ESXi host that contains the VM), select the VM you want to migrate, and then you will be prompted to enter the destination server's credentials (new ESXi host).

In my opinion using the converter is a lot easier than configuring the vCenter appliance for temporary use.

The vCenter Converter Standalone application is primary designed for Physical to Virtual conversions but I've used it to migrate data between old and new ESXi (free) hosts many times. It has many uses. :)

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Because esxi 4.0 from the old host wouldnt be able to access a VMFS5 store. I would like to upgrade the old host to esxi 5 but i am very concerned that it might break, especially networking, which would result in a huge headache.id like to have the move done first, then go forward with the storage/VMFS upgrade to v5

ESXi 4.0 license on Old Host (no support), and ESXi 5.1 license on New Host (long story short, distributor has badly dropped the ball on the license and i have not recieved confirmation or the license keys yet, so again no support)

ESXi 4.0 license on Old Host (no support), and ESXi 5.1 license on New Host (long story short, distributor has badly dropped the ball on the license and i have not recieved confirmation or the license keys yet, so again no support)

Yes, but what LEVEL of license on the hosts? Support or not shouldn't matter, once you have the license you can use it.

If you have Essentials or better on the 4.0 host, and are still on your trial on the new host (which is full enterprise licensing for the first 60 days), then simply spin up a trial of the vCenter appliance, add both hosts, and use the built-in Migrate option. In this case you could conceivably even consider rebuilding your 5.1 host completely to 5.5 and setting up the datastore as VMFS5 -- once you moved your existing VM back or backed it up somewhere. Then remove the 4.0 host and decommission it entirely. And once you get your new keys, toss them onto the new host and vCenter and you're done. If you didn't purchase a vCenter license for whatever reason, then remove the new host from vCenter and shut down the appliance, and license the host as a standalone. Easy peasy.

In newer versions of ESXi, rather than having to set up a Windows server then install all the vCenter components, you have the option of downloading a pre-made virtual appliance that you can deploy from an OVA. It's essentially a vCenter In a Box, requires almost no setup time and doesn't use up a windows license. I usually recommend it for any smaller setups, as it's quick and easy and more than robust enough to do the job:

Ok yes i was just checking that out. So should i deploy the .ova using vsphere on my physical PC? ie open up vsphere, connect to (new?) ESXi host, deploy .OVA as VM on my ESXi 5 host, and work through that Appliance VM?

Yes, you can do it from anyplace that allows you to connect to your new host. I've you've been using the vSphere client installed on your current workstation to manage your new host, you can continue to do so.

Corman, thank you for that bit of info. Quick follow up question: Do i require Vcenter Server to be installed and running normally to use VCenter Converter in an ESXi environment?

vCenter is not required. Simply install the Standalone converter on a computer or server that's located close to the ESXi servers (preferably a gig network). You can even install it in a VM. The application will ask you for the source server's credentials (old ESXi host that contains the VM), select the VM you want to migrate, and then you will be prompted to enter the destination server's credentials (new ESXi host).

In my opinion using the converter is a lot easier than configuring the vCenter appliance for temporary use.

The vCenter Converter Standalone application is primary designed for Physical to Virtual conversions but I've used it to migrate data between old and new ESXi (free) hosts many times. It has many uses. :)

Ok i figured out the virtual machine version, i will set it to 7 which is the current version on the old esxi host. Now the wizard is asking me for Sysprep files as this is a Server 2003 VM. Are these required? The documentation is a little thin on whether or not they are necessary. Also, Converter labels this as a 'conversion' process, which makes me wonder whether or not this still qualifies as a 'migration' process. Is that the reason Sysprep files are required?

Ok, looking good. Migration of low priority server VM successful! One issue though, no networking. Virtual NIC 'has a problem' in Device Manager. Also, 'Base System Device' has an issue as well. Any guidance on this guys?

When you do a P2V (or strictly, a V2V in your case) you can often end up with hidden network adapters. This KB article should get you on the right track -- don't worry that the error in the article isn't quite what you're seeing, but go through and check for hidden adapters as described: